The Book of Lost Tales, Part 1 (The History of Middle-Earth, Volume 1)

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, fantastical
Review: "The Book of Lost Tales" is a unique experience -- read it, and get to see a created mythology evolve before your very eyes. J.R.R. Tolkien created the vast backdrop of his Middle-Earth over the course of his life -- except that mythology evolved as time went on. Now the first batch of his old notes, drafts and rewrites are compiled in "Book of Lost Tales."

It presents some of the material from Tolkien's "Silmarillion"... except that these stories are different. In the tradition of some old Norse myths, the story is told to a human mariner called Eriol. Eriol makes his way to Tol Eressea, an island full of Elves, and is told about their history -- the Ainur, the creation of the world, and many other stories.

Some parts of "Book of Lost Tales" are almost indistinguishable from the stories in "Silmarillion." Others are drastically different: at some points Tolkien refers to the Elves as "fairies," the Dwarves are shown as evil, and legendary hero Beren was once written in as an Elf (which changes the story centering on him).

But this isn't a book for newbies. Instead it's for people who read and enjoyed "Silmarillion," not just "Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings." It also isn't quite as scintillating as "Silmarillion," however. Why? Because, to put it politely, Christopher Tolkien is a solid scholar, but not a very good writer. His constant analysis of Daddy's work is rather dull and long-winded, though he is to be commended for organizing and publishing them to start with.

Tolkien's writing genius, however, shines in every discarded note he wrotes. His prose here is more poetic and flowing. It's a lot less mythic and more "fairy-tale-ish." And in many of the stories, he provides a lot more detail and insight than in the later drafts.

"Book of Lost Tales" is strictly a treat for die-hard Tolkien fans, as anybody who isn't will be hopelessly lost. But oh, what a treat it is.

Rating:
Summary: In the beginning. . .
Review: . . .a young soldier, fighting in the First World War, exercised his imagination beyond the realms of most mortals, and began, in this volume, the single greatest sustained work of fictional imagination of the 20th century (and possibly the 2nd millenium). JRR Tolkien truly deserves the title "Master of Middle-Earth".

In this book, "The Book of Lost Tales, Part 1", the Master's son, Christopher Tolkien (himself quite a scholar in his own right) presents the very beginnings of the legends which would grow into the Silmarillion and the other great tales, songs, poems, and adventures of Middle-Earth. This work (and the volumes to follow) represent a tremendous effort of editing, sorting and categorizing -- and all hobbits have much to be grateful for in Christopher's work.

In this volume, the astute hobbit will be able to identify the beginnings of the stories so well-loved in later years and the evolution of names, plots, literary devices, languages etc; as well as ideas and concepts which never quite got off the ground (The cottage of lost play) comes to mind.

Altogether, a highly enjoyable -- and highly recommended volume.

Rating:
Summary: A worthy enterprise
Review: As customer reviews of this series are liberally sprinkled with assertions that JRR's son Christopher is driven by ego or a desire to cash in on his father reputation, it's worth pointing out that said son (and his siblings) inherited the copyright to their father's novels and have no need to "cash in." Christopher would appear to be the ideal manager of his father's manuscripts, and he's paved a responsible path through them with "The Silmarillion" and "Unfinished Tales."

Should you finish the novels and the above books and want to know still more of the vast history, mythology, creative development, and languages of Middle Earth, of which TLOTRings' events are only a late chapter, you'll certainly enjoy much of this series. Tolkien's vision was vast -- too vast ever to be finished in a lifetime of an active professor. The arrangement of material across the volumes is sensible, and you can pick as choose as interest dictates. Tolkien's manuscripts have been culled, organized, and put in order for all to enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for serious Tolkien fans
Review: Book of Lost Tales 1 is a must-read for Lord of the Rings fanatics who want to learn more about the history behind each culture of Middle Earth and some of the tales mentioned in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a compilation of stories, ranging from the creation of the world to the coming of mankind in their raw form, originally published in the Silmarillion. Each short story is followed by a Notes and Commentary section that detail name changes, differing variations of each story and a historical view of their creation. The Commentary section reveals the creative process behind each character, name, and storyline, including background information on how they were derived and why some storyline variations were discarded in favor of others.

Book of Lost Tales 1 is so rich with information that it took me a bit to get read through it. But its reward is insight into how The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings came to be. I would not recommend it for the casual fan, but for those who decide to make a serious study of Tolkien's works, this book would be a great start.

Rating:
Summary: Good Only For A Very Narrow Audience
Review: In the process of writing "The Lord of the Rings" and, to a lesser extent, "The Hobbit" J.R.R. Tolkien made voluminous notes on the "history" of Middle Earth, so that he could be internally consistent in his references to that history. After his death, his son, Christopher Tolkien, collected those mountains of notes, shuffled them, pasted them together, added some filler and connectors, and began producing books. "The Silmarillion" is the most famous of these books, but not the last. "The Book of Lost Tales 1 (The History of Middle-Earth - Volume 1)" is the first in a series of twelve books covering the fictional history of a fictional world.

What I cannot decide is whether Christopher Tolkien is to be thanked for making all of this material amply available, or if he has just decided to make a career of endless analyzing and elaborating and annotating and collecting of his father's notes. For those who consider themselves Tolkien students, this volume, plus its eleven sequels and "The Silmarillion", are valued treasures. For those of us who just love Tolkien the Elder's completed works, the uncompleted works are of little interest. If you have some interest in the history of Middle-Earth, but do not want to read twelve volumes, read "The Silmarillion" where some of Tolkien the Elder's genius shines through at times.

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Summary: For Tolkein fans...wonderful!
Review: It takes great strength of mind to be able to stick through this book, but if you're a true Tolkien fan, you'll love every minute of it. The Book of Lost Tales Part I tells the story of Eriol, a great mariner who finds his way to the lost island of Tol Eressëa, The Lonely Isle, where dwell a lost tribe of Elves. He finds himself in the company of Lindo and Vairë, who grant him shelter. He becomes a part of their lives, eagerly drinking in the stories they have to tell him of the origin of the world, and the ancient times, of Valinor, the origin of evil, the great works and deeds of the gods, and the creation of the world as it exists now.

For readers of the Silmarillion, many of the stories are familiar. They are told, however, in greater detail than that which is set down in the Silmarillion, and contain several interesting literary differences. (Nearly all of which are expounded on by Christopher Tolkien, who is, of course, the son of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.) Some are as small as name changes, some are opposing details about the events surrounding a character. (Such as Dwarves were originally an evil race by nature, and Beren was an ELF!)

Christopher Tolkien pored through the scribbles and snatches that his father composed in his lifetime, and somehow managed to put it all together in this published form. He even offers commentary on each tale once it is finished. I often found that these commentaries are of little interest; I enjoyed the tales themselves more. Still, there are unique facts to be gleaned, such as such-and-such a page containing differences between this tale and that that Tolkien wrote, and a few interesting facts about his father.

The book contains the very beginning of Middle-Earth, as told to Eriol by Lindo. The Music of the Ainur, he learns of, and the coming of the gods down to Valinor. He learns of the dark deeds of Melko, the coming of the Elves, the darkening of Valinor, the creation of the sun and moon, the flight of the Noldili. The book ends with a tale told by an Elf named Gilfanon about the travail of the Noldili, who fled Valinor after the theft of Melko. Following the end of tales is an index on names, the etymologies, the development of names, etc.

Reading this book really gives you a feeling for how much work and effort went into the creation of the books we all enjoy, The Lord of the Rings. But little do we realize that there was a good three thousand years of history prior to that story - and Tolkien wrote it all.

If you have an enthusiasm for the works of Tolkien, the tales prior to the Rings trilogy, and the history of Middle-Earth, than you should read this book if you can. I'd recommend reading the Silmarillion first, even if you have already read it once; Christopher Tolkien compares the two many, many times. Also be forewarned that this book can be a little dry and long-winded. But for true Tolkien aficionados, it's worth every minute.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: The first item in 'History of Middleearth' is an exciting Book and very wonderful to read but U should have read the Silmarillion first and had to be interessted in Middleearth. And when, then you'll love it.

Rating:
Summary: For the Tolkien Scholar
Review: This book is excellent! Christopher Tolkien has done an amazing amount of work gathering, and sorting his father's unpublished works on the beginning of Middle-Earth. His comentaries on each story make them easier to understand and enjoy.
However, this book is not for everyone. Just because you like the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit doesn' t mean you will like this book. It is not light reading and requires some patience and concentration.
But for the serious Tolkien fan it is a treasure you won't want to miss out on. The epic poems are fantastic especially when you consider that he was writing a lot of this in his early 20's. A really excellent book.

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Summary: Beyond The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings
Review: This is a very worthy read. It gives you an inside in with the Middle Earth world and back ground stories.

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Summary: Thankful Tolkien "found" it
Review: This is a wonderful book that looks not only at an awesome story, but also into how it was written. Some people have and will find this a dificult book to read, but it is a book you must go into with a little understanding.
To begin with I would highly recomend reading the "classics" of Tolkiens works. Read the Hobbit first, not so much for the depth of the work (it was written with children in mind), but for the questions that will arise when you read The Lord of the Rings. When you have finished this and have seen how the Third Age ends, with new things begining and old things ending, then it is time to move on to the Silmarillion, Tolkien's crown of his writing career.
Now you learn about the beginings of the world and the sad story of the Elves.
Finally you should read the beautiful yet [sadly] undone Unfinished Tales. Not only does it contain the stories that he was changing for the Silmarillion, but it is an excellent introduction to his son Christopher's thought provoking commentary.
Now we move on to the book you are wondering about. When I first read it (I was much younger at the time)I had the impression of it being a bunch of loose stories that were eventually rewritten to become the Silmarillion. WRONG!!
This is abeautiful work that evolves right before you eyes. The book of lost tales is actually a book that was written to be a mythology for England, which Tolkien saw to be sorely lacking. It is the story of an Englishman (Eriol) who finds the land of Faery and is told a series of stories which is an history of the world and the Elves, so these tales that were "lost" to humanity were given to Eriol who wrote them down and called it The Book of Lost Tales. (This is what Tolkien also did with the Hobbit by Bilbo Baggins, LOTR by Frodo and Sam, And the Silmarillion said to be compiled by Bilbo with the help of Frodo).
The commentary by his son is very hepful in keeping things straight, and and seeing a timeline of when things were written.
All in all this is an excellent book and series.